Radiant Flower
Category: Material
Despite its vivid color, it contained deadly radiation. Perhaps it could be made into something.
"Material."
Thin Dog rubbed the bridge of his nose, then nodded.
"Right. Since the game has a crafting system, it naturally has a synthesis system too. Maybe it can be combined into some new item?"
Ghost Face Demon Fox held the Radiant Flower up to the machine's display and asked, "How are we supposed to use this material?"
Zero: "Materials can be used in equipment crafting to add additional attributes to new equipment. This material may also be used to create some kind of socketable item, provided you find the corresponding recipe."
"Got it! Thanks."
Lin Tang plucked one of the flowers and handed it to Xiao Xiao.
"You still owe us a spear. Try adding this when you craft it."
Xiao Xiao: "Uh, but there's no step for adding flowers in my crafting process. Whatever, it's a game. I'll crush the flower and try coating the weapon with it."
Thin Dog's group gathered twelve Radiant Flowers. They gave one to Xiao Xiao and stored the remaining eleven for the time being.
Lin Tang muttered to himself, "Next time we go to the Great Radiation Pit, we should gather more. As long as it's material, there's never anything wrong with stockpiling it."
The other four wholeheartedly agreed.
Stockpilers never lost out!
After getting the flower, Xiao Xiao began crafting a new stone spear.
Forgiveness Hat did not have that skill, and he naturally felt too embarrassed to directly ask Thin Dog's group for their Biological Raw Materials. He borrowed a crowbar and headed down the mountain by himself.
Thin Dog was also generous enough to share all the game experience he had earned over his last two logins with Forgiveness Hat.
They were currently in the pioneering stage, with scarce resources. Thin Dog and the other two unanimously believed that players needed to stick together in order to develop faster.
Especially when dealing with a Raider Camp with dozens of people, there was simply no way to fight them with too few people.
Thin Dog checked the time. "It's almost time. Let's hurry and break down the loot. Oh, right, leave one Raider corpse for Xiao Xiao. Let's see what good stuff we can get from breaking down mutated animals."
"Yeah, that was what I was thinking too. Based on usual game experience, different creatures definitely have different drop rates and loot."
The three helped Xiao Xiao toss a Raider corpse into the Clone Production Pod. Xiao Xiao's quest progress became: 1/3.
Then the three placed a Raider corpse, a Mutated Hyena, and a Mutated Vampire Rabbit on the Loot Generator.
Ghost Face Demon Fox: "Wait! That's not right."
"We can't break them all down. Mutated animals are different from Raiders. They are resources themselves and can be useful without conversion. For example, their fur can be used to make clothes and armor, their meat can be eaten, and they can even be traded whole with caravans."
Lin Tang also remembered the trade they had conducted with the caravan that morning.
"Although we couldn't understand what the caravan was saying, prey like this should be Hard Currency. We can trade it to them for all kinds of resources. When you put it that way, prey really does have inherent value."
"Then let's break down one Mutated Hyena first. After all, rabbits are so cute, they must be delicious!"
Thin Dog made the final decision and pulled the enormous mutated blood rabbit, nearly a meter tall when standing upright, out of the dismantling chamber.
"Although these genetically mutated creatures look pretty vicious, they should taste good. They're wild, after all, so the texture and chewiness have to be great."
Ghost Face Demon Fox shook his head. "If we don't have any special need for it and only want to fill our stomachs, I think beans with strong satiation would be better. They are easier to store, and we would get a larger quantity when trading for them, allowing us to restore Physical Strength multiple times."
Lin Tang said, "Hu Da has a point. If you want food, order takeout in real life. As long as we can fill our bellies in the game, who cares whether we eat shit or meat?"
The corner of Ghost Face Demon Fox's mouth twitched. "...There's no need to eat shit."
"Ahem! Anyway, let's break these two down first."
After clicking start, the three waited for a moment before the machine's conveyor belt rolled the loot out.
There were two pieces of loot from the Raider: a bottle of health potion and a necklace.
Advancing Bone Amulet Quality: Excellent +14 Attack Capability +3 Health Recovery Speed per second
The Mutated Hyena only dropped one piece of loot.
A slender red bone spike.
Serrated Spike Socketable Item (can be used on all weapons, shields, and off-hand Magic Tools) 3 Pierce Damage 9 Bleed Damage over 3 seconds +12% Bleed Damage Grants Skill: Armor Piercing Aura Enhances the attacks of you and your teammates, allowing them to pierce armor. Range: 10 meters. This skill must remain active to stay effective. Activating it reduces Energy Cap by 50 and consumes 1 Energy per second. 7 Pierce Damage +25% Pierce Damage
Lin Tang said, "Holy shit? We got top-tier loot? Two top-tier drops at once? 666!"
Ghost Face Demon Fox held the equipment and analyzed it.
"The amulet is worn around the neck, so its bonuses definitely won't conflict with rings. If used properly, those three points of Life Recovery Speed can help our team quickly recover health in the wild. As for the Attack Capability attribute... Thin Dog, tell us. Is the bonus noticeable?"
Thin Dog answered with certainty, "It's very noticeable. In battle, I react faster and deal damage beyond what I expect. You know that heightened-senses state? When people face a massive crisis, their brains operate at full capacity. Their minds become incredibly clear, everything seems to move in slow motion, and they can instantly make fast, accurate decisions. Increasing Attack Capability isn't that exaggerated, but it's heading in that direction."
"I figure that if I can stack my Attack Capability high enough, I'll be able to directly enter that heightened-senses state."
"So although Attack Capability doesn't directly boost strength values like weapons and rings do, its effect is no less significant."
Ghost Face Demon Fox nodded repeatedly as he listened.
"Big Bro Thin Dog is still the professional one. No wonder you're a Rich Brother with a personal trainer. In that case, Attack Capability can be considered a strength amplifier, right? Once stacked high enough, it lets you fight beyond your own actual abilities. Is that understanding correct?"
"Completely correct! Hu Da really knows how to summarize."
Lin Tang said directly, "Alright, alright, let's fast-forward to giving this amulet to Thin Dog. I get it. Look at this thing instead. Damn, the attributes on one socketable item are worth as much as two pieces of equipment. Isn't that ridiculously overpowered?"
He was holding that slender red bone spike, which felt extraordinarily tough.
The attributes on it left all three speechless.
Thin Dog said, "The Base Attributes it adds are decent. The Bleed Damage should be considerable once it accumulates, but overall it's not that different from the Boiling Blood dropped by the Raiders. However, it comes with an Aura Skills ability, which is awesome. One person sockets it, and the whole team gets the bonus! I didn't expect our first skill wouldn't be learned from an NPC, but granted by a socketable item."
"Let me quickly calculate the actual bonus. For me personally, it adds ten Pierce Damage and boosts it by twenty-five percent. That means every attack gets an additional 12.5 stable Pierce Damage. Our own base attack is only ten points, and even Xiao Xiao's crafted weapons only have ten to twenty Attack Capability. Add another 3.3 Bleed Damage per second, and it's basically like giving me another weapon!"
"For teammates, the calculation gives them 8.75 Pierce Damage too. Everyone's output has collectively risen by a whole tier!"
Ghost Face Demon Fox nodded, then shook his head. "Your math is correct, but... you overlooked the fact that Xiao Xiao's crafted weapons come with an additional five to seven Pierce Damage. That makes the benefit from the twenty-five percent even higher."
Lin Tang gasped. "Then can I really go on a killing spree?"
While the three were marveling over it, Cheng Shaofeng walked over.
"Soldiers, it's dark. You should rest."
"Ah, come on! I haven't played enough yet!"
"That is an order. You have three minutes to organize your belongings."
"Alright..."
The three gathered all their gains into the crude little house they had built, then lay down together.
Player African Thin Dog, Ghost Face Demon Fox, and Lin Tang have logged off.
Cheng Shaofeng turned and saw Xiao Xiao, still polishing her weapon, looking at him pitifully.
"Lord, I... only logged in a little while ago."
"Soldier, nights in the wasteland are extremely dangerous. But if you don't go down the mountain, I can allow you to stay in the base a little longer."
"Thank you! I'll make weapons here!"
Xiao Xiao excitedly continued grinding the Radiant Flower.
As the sunset spilled across the land, the sky gradually darkened. The other player, Forgiveness Hat, had yet to return.
Cheng Shaofeng felt somewhat worried.
"With his abilities, he should make it back safely... right?"
That night, the leaders of every Raider Camp in the Four Mountains region and its surrounding areas received a signal and headed for the Great Radiation Pit.
There would be another chapter later.
Before you continue